Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) Price Target to $15.00

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) had its target price cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

VERV has been the subject of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Verve Therapeutics from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verve Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Verve Therapeutics from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

Verve Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VERV opened at $6.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.05. Verve Therapeutics has a one year low of $4.30 and a one year high of $16.03. The company has a market capitalization of $559.63 million, a P/E ratio of -2.69 and a beta of 1.74.

Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 million. Verve Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 807.65% and a negative return on equity of 35.23%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verve Therapeutics will post -2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verve Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VERV. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Verve Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 111,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 2,093 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verve Therapeutics by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Verve Therapeutics by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Verve Therapeutics by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 50,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,742 shares during the period. 97.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verve Therapeutics

Verve Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage genetic medicines company, engages in developing gene editing medicines for patients to treat cardiovascular diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is VERVE-101, a single-course gene editing treatment that permanently turns off the PCSK9 gene in the liver; and VERVE-102, a product candidate that targets the PCSK9 gene for the treatment of HeFH.